Coachie’s latest work is called “Fetch Me Yon Deep Fryer,” and properly reflects that we’re not going to overthink things today. If you look back through these playoffs it should be easy for you to convince yourself that the better team won each game. It’s been a nice season for the Cardinals and Ravens, but the Eagles and Steelers are the better teams today.
The Cardinals played in football’s worst division this season, and has enjoyed their playoff run against football’s second worst division. Their luck runs out today. The Eagles’ strength in the trenches will be too much for them to overcome, as it was earlier this season on another day that required no overthinking. The Cards have an exciting young roster, and an alluring passing attack anchored by fantasy stud Larry Fitzgerald. Ask last week’s Panthers backers about how there’s something about a good fantasy stud that can bring out the worst picks in the best of us. Especially an underdog playing at home. The Eagles’ defense should dominate this game, and their offense has enough explosiveness to score enough to win, and cover. The Pick: Eagles -3.5 (The line is down to 3.5! Fools!) over Cardinals (75X)
As for the second game:
The glitter here is the rivalry. The Ravens played the Steelers as close as could be in each of the games these teams have played this season. But today’s are weaker Ravens and stronger Steelers than the ones that played in the earlier games. The Ravens are riddled with injuries and look to be running out of gas. Suggs and Ngata are more important to the Ravens than Ray Lewis is. Suggs’ injury is huge. The Steelers on the other hand have Willie Parker back (he’s fast), and have adjusted well to injury losses on their offensive line in the season’s second half. At this point, you’re either convinced of the 2008 Steelers greatness, or you’re not. We are. If you’re in doubt, you should listen to greatest NFL player of our generation, Hines Ward, here. Look into his eyes. Look at his hat. Look. At. His. Hat. The Pick: Steelers -6 over Ravens (75X).
If you think this Keystone Combo looks too easy (it sort of does), consider how hard it would be to pick the most intriguing Super Bowl matchup that we can remember. Our fingers are crossed.
Hey, enjoy the championship games! We’ll be back tomorrow to sort things out.
Update: There’s only three more NFL games left. We’re taking the Under (47) in Eagles/Cards (10X), and the Over (34) in Steelers/Ravens (10X).
